The following are summaries of today's major stories published in the
Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content, giving
English-language readers insight into the various views expressed in newspapers
across the Arab world.
Sources reported to
An-Nahar
Daily that the Lebanese officials, primarily President Michel Sleiman, PM Najib
Mikati and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel will be taking radical measures, which
they discussed with the LAF command and the Directorate General of the ISF,
after the security chaos in Tripoli has reached a level of extreme danger that
surpassed the ceilings reached by the previous battles.
However, the sources did not
confirm whether or not Syria Street will be declared a military zone, hoping
that the measures that will be implemented will secure a safe atmosphere in the
city with the holidays drawing near.
The same sources noted that
the security test will not be limited to the meeting of the Higher Defense
Council and its executive decisions, but it will also tackle the issue of
returning the bodies of those killed in Talkalakh ambush.
MP Ammar Houry called on the
Higher Defense Council to discuss a list which was received by Interior
Minister Marwan Charbel more than three weeks ago, and which contains 15 names
of people in the danger zone, including 12 deputies and three leaders from the
Future Movement.
Houry told
An-Nahar Newspaper
that Minister Charbel referred the list to the Prime Minister Najib Mikati,
calling for holding an urgent meeting for security leaders to discuss this
issue, but Mikati had to postpone this matter due to his travel to the Vatican.
“My name is listed among
those who are threatened, and I was one of those who received threatening text
messages,” Houry added.
- Three bodies of Talkalakh
victims to arrive to Lebanon today
Sources told
An-Nahar Daily
that the Director General of the General Security Abbas Ibrahim who was
informed yesterday from Syrian parties that they do not mind handing over the
bodies of all the Lebanese who were killed in Talkalakh ambush in Syria,
justified the fact that the bodies will not be returned in one batch by saying
that not all the bodies have been yet identified, adding that some of them may
be of Syrian nationality.
Accordingly, it was agreed
that the Syrian parties will hand over three bodies today, and Lebanese Red
Cross vehicles will be in charge of transporting them from general security
vehicles at al-Arida crossing. However, the date of handing over the second and
last batch has not yet been set.
- Hamadeh: new meeting for committees’ heads and members of
Parliament’s committee
MP Marwan Hamadeh stressed that a new meeting will be held
for the heads of committees and the members of the Parliament’s committee of
March 14, similar to the previous meeting held at MP Boutros Harb’s residence. The
meeting aims at discussing the positions taken following the discussions held
by a delegation from March 14 with Speaker Nabih Berri.
In a statement to
An-Nahar Newspaper, Hamadeh noted that
these contacts aims at reactivating the committees concerning the electoral
law, without affecting their private demands of forming a neutral cabinet and
resuming dialogue according to the conditions imposed by March 14 forces.